Aerospace Engineering Colloquium, Dr. Rick C. Miake- Lyle- Commercial Aviation Enviromental Impacts Research

Commercial aviation emits its exhaust and associated pollutants at an altitude where no other anthropogenic emissions occur other than space craft. Thus, they have a unique potential to influence the atmosphere and affect climate in ways that are different from most other human activities. With increasing awareness of the changing climate, there is a major focus on CO2 emissions which are very long lived and thus not sensitive to where they are emitted. But non-CO2 emissions from airplanes are predicted to have influence as great or greater than CO2, especially through the contrails that form behind some airplane flights. These trails of condensing water vapor are highly localized and short-lived and are connected to particulate matter (PM) emissions from airplane engines in important ways. Issues related to contrail impacts are being studied intensively and their mitigation is being discussed actively. But non CO2 emissions are also very important for pollution in and around airports, so NOx and PM emissions continue to be studied for both climate and local air quality impacts.